Raw-to-Dry Planning
Dry-to-Raw Requirement Calculator
When you know how much freeze-dried product you need, this tool works backward to the fresh food required: target dry weight divided by the expected dry yield percentage. For example, 10 kg of freeze-dried product at an expected 20% dry yield requires about 50 kg of fresh, prepared food to start with.
What This Tool Does
Given the freeze-dried weight you plan to deliver and the expected dry yield you enter, it calculates the fresh weight you need to buy, prepare and load.
Estimated Fresh Weight Required
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Estimate, based on the dry yield you entered
What the Result Means
The result is the fresh, prepared weight you should plan to buy and load to end up near your target dry weight. For commercial quoting, production planning, sourcing and inventory this is the number that turns a goal ("we need 40 kg of product") into a purchase ("we need about 200 kg of fresh food at a 20% yield").
Because it divides by the yield, the requirement is very sensitive to the yield number you enter: a yield of 18% instead of 22% changes the fresh requirement by more than 20%. Use a measured yield from a test batch of the same food whenever you can, and plan a small safety margin in fresh material for trimming and losses.
The Formula
- Fresh Weight Required = Target Freeze-Dried Weight ÷ Expected Dry Yield % × 100
Important Limitations
- The dry yield is user-entered and drives the whole result: an unmeasured guess makes the requirement unreliable.
- Fresh weight excludes the weight of trimmings, peels, inedible parts and cooking losses that never reach the trays. Count the weight you actually load.
- Real batches vary: plan with the conservative side of your measured yields, not the optimistic side.
- This does not account for trial batches, rejected product or loss during grinding and packaging: add those separately if they matter to your plan.